Nets of various types, materials, sizes and shapes such as, gill nets, purse nets, trawl nets, lift nets, drift nets and aquaculture nets, among others, may cover large areas of the ocean and create physical barriers to moving marine vessels and underwater vehicles. Marine vessels and underwater vehicles can encounter these nets and others in a variety of orientations and tensions. Nets can be anchored and tightly strung, be loose and compliant, or float with weights distributed on the bottom. The use of fishing nets and other objects in water bodies present a significant obstacle to marine vessels and underwater vehicles, especially in littoral zones where fishing activity is concentrated.
Underwater vehicles have expanded our ability to operate in and explore new areas. Further, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) have contributed greatly to the gathering of information in harbors and littoral waters where other underwater vehicles such as submarines cannot travel or may be easily detected. For example, UUVs can carry out critical missions in the areas of intelligence, science, surveillance, reconnaissance, mine countermeasures, tactical oceanography, navigation and anti-submarine warfare. Mission performances, however, have been hindered by a underwater vehicle's inability to penetrate through fishing nets and other objects while traveling underwater. These hindrances are particularly present with UUV's.
Presently, UUV mission areas are scanned for fishing nets and other objects. Mission routes are selected so as to minimize the probability of encountering objects even though the selected route may not be the shortest or the most desired route. Yet, UUVs may be called upon during mission critical situations to penetrate waters in which there is a high probability of encountering fishing nets and other objects. In these situations, a UUV may be forced to stop and maneuver around obstacles encountered during its mission. Even the smallest hull protrusions, such as the control fins, sonar pods and antenna masts of a UUV, may get entangled in a fishing net. Once entangled, divers may be required to retrieve the UUV and cause significant operation delay. Operation failure may result if the UUV is not retrievable or lost altogether.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,961,079 issued Feb. 24, 2015, U.S. Pat. No. 8,899,167 issued Dec. 2, 2014, U.S. Pat. No. 9,061,361 issued Jun. 23, 2015, and U.S. Pat. No. 9,260,169 issued May 22, 2015 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/528,693 filed Oct. 30, 2014, Ser. No. 14/556,986 filed Dec. 1, 2014, and Ser. No. 14/993,744 filed Jan. 12, 2016 are all presently assigned to Adaptive Methods, Inc. located in Rockville, Md. (the “Adaptive Methods patents”) describe systems and methods related to net penetrations. Each of those patents and publications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
There is a need and a desire for improved net penetration systems, apparatuses, and methods. Further, more and more nets now contain a wire, or other strengthened material, reinforcement. Accordingly, there is a need and desire for an apparatus, system and method for penetrating through nets and other objects having wire reinforcements or wire nets.